Tropical Storm Debby lashed the Florida and the Bay area with lots of rain potentially flooding many businesses and homes. This has led to a large amount of carpet damage to those in flooded areas. It's important to remove wet carpet as soon as possible in order to protect your family from serious health issues. Flood waters can contain many different types of bacteria and can promote the growth of mold.

It's important to gather essential items and stay with family and friends until water recedes and you can safely get a professional to assess your home for damage. If possible you should try to determine the level of sanitation from local authorities. FWC and the county Sheriff will most likely be the responding agencies in the event of a flood evacuation.

It's important to remove the carpet as quickly as possible. You should consult a professional to conduct the removal to ensure the proper procedure is used to prevent yourself from becoming injured or sick. Wet carpet can be extremely heavy and it's very easy for you to pull a muscle. Gloves, rubber boots, and goggles are standard safety equipment when removing contaminated carpet in the event you decide to do it yourself.

Once all of the soiled carpet has been removed it is important to disinfect the entire floor area including the baseboards. This is an important step that should not be overlooked as once again the bacteria from flood waters can pose a significant health threat to you and your family including pets. You should not even return to live in your home until it has been sanitized and preferably restored to its pre-flood state.

Be sure to open all the windows and doors if possible, and coupled with industrial fans and dehumidifiers, you should be well on your way to restoring your home to its pre-flood state. Once you have thoroughly dried out your home, the next step is replacing your flooring with either new carpet or another type of flooring that you prefer. This is also an opportunity to upgrade your home with softer and more durable carpet or perhaps a different flooring upgrade such as stone tile.